1. Field
Embodiments relate to a power management apparatus and method capable of displaying information about various electricity pricing systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, research on smart grids has been actively performed. A smart grid is an ‘intelligent power network’ corresponding to a combination of the information technology and a conventional uni-directional power network composed of power generation, power transmission, power distribution and sale stages to allow a power provider and a consumer to exchange information in real-time, thereby optimizing energy efficiency.
The power provider can check a power use state in real time using the smart grid and elastically adjust power supply in response to the power use state. The power consumer can select a time period in which power rates are low and control the quantity of used power by checking the power use state in real time.
As part of the smart grid technology, a power management unit (PMU) has been developed. The PMU is installed in a home of a power consumer, receives information about current power rates from a power provider and displays the current power rates.
However, a conventional PMU displays only the current power rates and generates an alarm only when an electricity price is changed, and thus it is difficult for the power consumer to check current power consumption. In addition, the conventional PMU has difficulty in displaying information about power rates and power consumption with respect to a pricing system in which power rates change in response to power consumption other than real time pricing (RTP)